Preventing the vote

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Dear Editor:

Can you vote?

Maybe not. Although it is your right to vote as an American citizen, and you have been voting for many, many years, you may be prevented from doing so in the future unless you have a government issued photo I.D. Scary, isn't it?

Research has shown that as many as 11 percent of citizens do not have an unexpired government issued photo I.D. as mandated by a new bill in the state House of Representatives called HB934. This bill has been approved by a vote of 108-88. Did you know that? The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration called SB934.

This bill must be rejected.

This bill, if passed and signed, would prevent all those without a current, government issued photo I.D. from voting. The young (18-year-olds), the poor, the elderly, those who let their driver's license expire, the sick, the folks with disabilities ... all those who wise to exercise their right to vote but may not without the photo I.D.

Why try to enact these bills at all? Pennsylvania has a well-run and organized voting system, allowing all qualified citizens to vote. Always has.

The reason given was voter fraud. Well, my friends, there is no record of voter fraud in Pennsylvania. None. No hint of voter fraud in the future! No suggestion of voter fraud, period.

One can come to only one conclusion. There is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise whole groups of people from voting by putting this ridiculous barrier in their way.